Zimbabwe

Friday September 6, 2019

Editorial Cartoon Gallery by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 6, 2019

Mugabe dies; liberated Zimbabwe, then held it for 37 years

Former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, an ex-guerrilla chief who took power after independence from white minority rule in 1980 and presided over a country whose early promise was eroded by economic turmoil and allegations of human rights violations, has died in Singapore at the age of 95.

February 27, 2002

Mugabe enjoyed strong support among the population and even the West soon after taking over as Prime Minister and Zimbabwe’s first post-colonial leader. But he was reviled in later years as the economy collapsed and human rights violations increased. His often violent takeover of farms from whites who owned huge tracts of land made him a hated figure in the West and a hero in Africa.

His successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced Mugabe’s death in a tweet Friday, mourning him as an “icon of liberation.”

June 26, 2008

Singapore’s Foreign Ministry later said he died Friday at the Gleneagles Hospital there, saying it was working with Zimbabwe on arrangements for Mugabe’s body to be flown home. Mugabe had received medical treatment at the hospital in recent years.

Mugabe’s popularity began to rise again after Mnangagwa failed to deliver on promises of economic recovery and appeared to take an even harsher and more repressive stance against critics. Many began to publicly say they missed Mugabe.

Forced to resign amid pressure from the military, his party and the public in November 2017, Mugabe was defiant throughout his long life, railing against the West for what he called its neo-colonialist attitude and urging Africans to take control of their resources — a populist message that was often a hit, even as many nations on the continent shed the strongman model and moved toward democracy.

July 22, 2008

A target of international sanctions over the years, Mugabe nevertheless enjoyed acceptance among peers in Africa who chose not to judge him in the same way as Britain, the United States and other Western detractors.

“They are the ones who say they gave Christianity to Africa,” Mugabe said of the West during a visit to South Africa in 2016. “We say: ‘We came, we saw and we were conquered.’”

Even as old age took its toll and opposition to his rule increased, he refused to step down until the pressure became unbearable in 2017 as his former allies in the ruling party accused him of grooming his wife, Grace, to take over — ahead of long-serving loyalists such as Mnangagwa, who was fired in November 2017 before returning to take over with the help of the military.

November 21, 2017

Spry in his impeccably tailored suits, Mugabe maintained a schedule of events and international travel during his rule that defied his advancing age, though signs of weariness mounted. He walked with a limp, fell after stepping off a plane in Zimbabwe, read the wrong speech at the opening of parliament, and appeared to be dozing during a news conference in Japan. However, his longevity and frequently dashed rumors of ill health delighted supporters and infuriated opponents who had sardonically predicted he would live forever. (Continued: AP) 

 

Tuesday November 21, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 21, 2017

Robert Mugabe accused of breaching constitution to promote his ‘corrupt’ wife

July 22, 2008

A concerted drive by parliament and the people, with the backing of the military, is due to take place on Tuesday to try and force Robert Mugabe to resign. MPs will start impeachment proceedings against the President while hundreds of thousands of protesters are expected to march on his mansion vowing to put it under siege until he leaves.

But there were also reports that Mr Mugabe has called for a cabinet meeting on Tuesday as well to show that he is still in charge. A notice from his chief secretary has instructed all members to attend at 9am. The President is nonetheless still under house arrest and many of his ministers have been detained following last week’s military coup. The place where cabinet meetings are held, Munhumutapa Building in the centre of the capital, is now shut and guarded by soldiers and an armoured personnel carrier.

July 25, 2008

The moves come after an extraordinary and chaotic 24 hours in which Mr Mugabe apparently agreed to resign on state television but instead used the broadcast, sitting next to military commanders who are his captors, to vow that he will stay on in office to unify the nation and supervise reforms.

Mr Mugabe then ignored an ultimatum from his own party, Zanu-PF, which had stripped him of leadership, to resign by midday Monday or face impeachment. There are differing accounts of how long it will take to remove the President from office through the process, ranging from one day to more than a week.

February 27, 2002

Separately, the organisation of veterans who fought in the war against white minority rule has announced that it will take legal action at the High Court to force Mr Mugabe’s resignation. Its head, Christopher Mutsvangwa, charged that the President had condemned himself out of his own mouth when making his speech on which he admitted failures by his government. (Source: The Independent) 

 

Tuesday July 22, 2008

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 22, 2008

Zimbabwe leaders sign deal on power-sharing talks

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe signed an agreement to hold power-sharing talks with his opposition on Monday, a diplomatic breakthrough following almost three months of political instability.

A grim-looking Mugabe and smiling opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed the document in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, at about 3 p.m. local time. The agreement maps out conditions for talks that will lead to a unity government between the longtime president and the popularly supported opposition leader.

It was the first time in more than a decade that the bitter foes have met face to face.

The signing is “a positive step forward in the ongoing dialogue” to resolve the political and economic crisis that has plagued Zimbabwe for months, said South African foreign affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa.

South African president Thabo Mbeki presided over the signing. His country has led the African Union’s effort to help Zimbabwe come to a peaceful resolution to the standoff, which began in March following highly contested elections.

Tsvangirai earned the most votes but pulled out of a widely contested June runoff vote following a rash of state-sponsored violence against his supporters

According to the opposition, post-election violence has left 120 people dead, thousands injured. They say rioting and property damage has put tens of thousands of Zimbabwe residents on the streets. (Source: CTV News) 

 

Wednesday June 26, 2008

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 26, 2008

Mugabe believes he’s `appointed by God’

As African and Western countries struggle to find a plan to remove Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe – before he declares himself winner of an uncontested election Friday – the aging strongman is turning on his people with renewed ferocity.

Observers are calling it the last thrash of a regime that has beaten, starved and murdered Zimbabweans for years. And observers say the violence may continue even if he is ousted.

Mugabe, 84 and reportedly in poor health, considers himself “appointed by God,” and says he will never give up power. But he is under increasing pressure from his neighbours to step down.

Before a meeting of the United Nations Security Council yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Mugabe to abandon the runoff election, after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew his name and took shelter in the Netherlands embassy in Harare, saying he wanted to avoid deadly reprisals against his supporters.

“There has been too much violence and too much intimidation,” Ban told reporters. “A vote held in these conditions would lack all legitimacy.”

A draft statement tabled by Britain asked the council to give “full support” to Tsvangirai, in the absence of a legitimate runoff. In the first round of voting in March, his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won a parliamentary victory, but the electoral commission said he had too few votes to win the presidency outright. (Source: Toronto Star) 

Commentary by Graeme MacKay, June 27, 2008

Summer is the time for international cartoons, among other subjects I’ve written about on this blog. Here and here and here, too. Throughout the year I tend to draw on local and national events before I’ll consider drawing on other stuff going on in the world. There are regions of the world where I deliberately stay away from commenting on because the complexity of certain situations simply baffles me. The situation around Israel is a prime example. Perhaps when I was newer at cartooning I’d attempt to do something on the whatever peace process was being negotiated upon between Israel and the Palestinians. Now, however, I’ve joined others who may be fatigued by it all and wondering why such a tiny piece of the planet gets so much attention.

By comparison, the political situation in Zimbabwe is so uncomplex it makes it so easy to comment on. Having a despot control any country in the 21st century makes for an easy target for editorial cartoonists. The degree to which they cling to power makes it even easier.

In Mugabe’s case, it’s not just how he clings to power that is so outrageous, it’s the fact that he clings to the one noble ideal that energized him to rally the black majority of Rhodesia … 40 years ago, when Zimbabwe was controlled by a white minority of British colonialists (before reforms brought in by Ian Smith). He courageously fought against minority rule, and spent time in jail for his outspokeness, much like Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Consequently, he became a hero and rose to become leader of a new nation in the horn of Africa in 1980.

It sounds like the foundation of what could have been the rise of a great African hero, doesn’t it? But from the start to the conclusion of the 2008 election of Mugabe’s reign over Zimbabwe tactics of violent intimidation have been so blatantly used to keep him in power. The expropriation of white owned farms, disasterious economic policies leading to unbelieveable inflation, food shortages, oil shortages, internal displacement and starvation are all part of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. The best he can do to deal with these problems is to harken back to the one ideal he started with 40 years ago — that it’s the colonists fault and now the west is only fueling the problems.

That’s Mugabe’s 28 year reign in a nutshell. Pretty straightforward stuff.

But even now the blaming of Zimbabwe’s problems on colonials, the west, and generally the “white man”, Mugabe has gone to new lengths of legitimizing his power as a God given right. A modern day absolute monarch – the exact same people who sent colonials around to settle far off lands and oppress the people in the name of a king ruling by divine right. Another easy international cartoon, and yet so outrageous it’s actually going on before our eyes.

 

Wednesday June 4, 2008

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 4, 2008

Food summit delegates enjoy banquet dinner

After a day spent debating the world food crisis, the 40 heads of government taking part in the UN food summit were rewarded with a banquet at a palazzo designed by Raphael.

The leaders sat down to dinner in the frescoed halls of the Villa Madama, a sprawling palace on the lower slopes of Monte Mario in Rome.

Robert Mugabe was not invited to the banquet, which was hosted by Silvio Berlusconi and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general.

The Zimbabwean leader brought his own cadre of chefs and waiters with him to Rome, and installed them in the kitchen of the five-star Hotel Ambasciatori Palace, where he has a suite.

A source at the hotel said the Zimbabwean delegation had brought “crates” of African food with them and were dining in their rooms.

Earlier, the heads of government sat down to a decidedly more modest lunch than the one served at the 2005 food summit in Rome.

Delegates were served vol au vents with sweetcorn and mozzarella, paté of crevettes and pumpkin, veal with cherry tomatoes, spinach and then a fruit salad. (Source: Telegraph)